LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “…Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8, the Holy Bible).

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YOUNG NOYNOY’S DOCTORS IN 1987, PART II: Here is the second part of an email I received from Dr. Alex Abelardo S. Fider, the orthopedic surgeon who formed the triad of doctors that operated on President Noynoy Aquino after he was ambushed during the 1987 military uprising against President Corazon Aquino’s government:

“I still clearly remember and cherish as part of the family's honor and as a Sigma Rhoan, `seekers of the right’, that very early on that fateful morning, my `pocketbell’ rang and a voice identifying himself as an aide of Col. Voltaire Gazmin ordered me to go to the PSG Hospital.

“I was to assist Major Merlin Cipriano, much respected general surgeon of the FEU Hospital, in treating Noynoy Aquino who was ambushed, with his 6 security details killed. I was informed by Dr. Cipriano that Noynoy sustained neck, shoulder and body gunshot wounds...

“I asked permission from Dr. Cipriano and Col. Gazmin's aide to bring on board Dr. Tony Acosta, one of the best spinal surgeons, to assist also…

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SAVING THE FUTURE PRESIDENT: “Noynoy had to be operated on, gunshot wounds needed to be debrided, and bullet fragments needed to be extracted safely. Time was of the essence to prevent infection and prevent further bleeding.

“The Commanding Officer (CO) of the Presidential Security Hospital, Lt. Col. Almoneda (now retired Colonel) then was out of town... At that time, the full staff of the PSG Hospital were out also. So, Major Cipriano as the acting CO assumed responsibility and we did what we needed to do.

“At that time also, we had no trusted military anesthesiologist, so we had to sedate Noynoy Aquino then and accomplished our mission of saving the future president.

“As expected, with the high caliber of doctors then: Major Merlin Cipriano, general surgeon; Captain Antonio Acosta, Jr., spinal surgeon; and Captain Alex Abelardo S. Fider, orthopedic surgeon, Noynoy Aquino recovered well, and became the President of the Republic of the Philippines….”

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DR. FIDER’S PHOTOS: Dr. Fider sent me some photos to back up his claim, and to our readers interested to see them, they are now posted at www.batasmedia.com. Log on at www.batasmedia.com and view these pictures. Thanks.